Thursday, 31 March 2022

Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 31st March 2022

Date: 31st March 2022

Time: from 7:30 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, moderate wind, 1°C to 2°C

On 22nd March 2022, I visited Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs. It was sunny with temperatures of around 16°C and I only needed a T-shirt .... plus a pair of trousers obviously 😀.

This morning, just over a week later, winter has returned with temperatures barely above freezing and feeling significantly below that with a wind chill caused by the moderate wind. I still felt cold with winter-lined trousers, a base layer, a jumper and 2 fleeces!

The return to colder temperatures had a not unexpected impact on bird song which was much reduced despite it being sunny. However, the Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps which have now returned for the summer clearly didn’t get the memo since I saw and heard singing males of both species around the site 😀.

I saw 2 singing male Chiffchaffs and heard at least 3 others plus I saw 2 singing male Blackcaps and heard 2 others. I managed to photograph both species but the former was much easier than the latter.

With regard to other birds, this visit was particularly notable for Greenfinches. This is a species that historically I have only recorded on a few occasions each year but this year has already produced several records. This morning I saw 3 Greenfinches and heard 3 others: a male seen well in bushes in the south west corner of the site, a calling male seen flying over the same location, a calling male seen flying over the field in the north of the site, a calling bird heard flying over the church car park and 2 males heard calling and singing either side of the access track from Larkins Tyres in the woodland and scrub.

Other notable records included 2 Green Woodpeckers, 1 distantly calling bird from the south west corner of the site and a much louder calling bird from the woodland around the access track from Larkins Tyres, and a single male Mallard flying over the north of the site.  

With regard to mammals, I saw a Red Fox briefly emerge from the hedge bordering the eastern section of the cemetery. As it spotted me, it turned round and disappeared back in to the hedge.

In addition, I saw a Reeves’ Muntjac at the edge of the field in the north of the site which I managed to photograph.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Robin
Dunnock
Wren
Blackbird
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Green Woodpecker
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Woodpigeon
Mallard
Herring Gull

Red Fox
Reeves’ Muntjac

Here are some photos from my visit:





























Photo: male Chiffchaff




























Photo: male Chiffchaff




























Photo: male Chiffchaff




























Photo: male Chiffchaff




























Photo: male Blackcap



























Photo: male Blackcap





























Photo: Robin




























Photo: Woodpigeon




























Photo: Reeves' Muntjac




























Photo: Reeves' Muntjac





















































































Site totals to date (2022 totals in brackets):

Birds = 56  (35)
Mammals = 6  (3)
Butterflies = 21  (2)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 7  (0)
Reptiles = 1  (0)
Amphibians = 0  (0)

💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature

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